ESCAPEE STILL AT LARGE

A sheriff's prisoner who made a dramatic escape from custody while on her way to court was still at large Sunday night, sheriff's officials said.

Carol Croteau, 29, escaped Saturday morning from a van in which where she and four other female prisoners from the Palm Beach County Stockade were being taken to a hearing, deputies said.

Wriggling out of her handcuffs, Croteau unplugged the vehicle's police radio and leaped from the van, which was traveling about 35 mph, deputies said.

She then swam across the Palm Beach Canal to a home on the other side. Dripping wet, she knocked on the door, and concocted a story complete with tears about a husband who had just thrown her out of a car, deputies said. She talked the occupants into giving her dry clothing and a ride to Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach, police said.